I snuggle closer into Josh. "I cannot believe Kurt is actually coming here. To Dartmouth. We are going to have so much fun." I nearly squeal at the last sentence. Josh smiles down at me and hugs me, so that we are even closer. "'course. So, what do you think? Should we take the 6am flight or is that too early for you? I think 6am is a good time .Although that would mean a full extra day of and I am not sure who would want that…" I laugh. " 'Course." I mimic him, knowing fully well that he misses St. Clair all the time.
Life is good. We are living together for nearly a year now and we are happy. Of course, not everything is perfect. We both made some new friends, but we miss our old ones especially Kurt and St. Clair. The latter we have only seen once so far, when he was visiting with Anna and they talked about their wedding, which will be next year. Josh is going to be best man and he is already excited about it. Jobwise, Josh is currently trying to find a publisher for his graphic memoir and I am seriously thinking about becoming an editor. I chose courses, which would fit to the job and I am trying to get a stage at a publishing company. Right now, we both have small jobs that pay our living: Josh is selling his art on the street and I am working in a café. It isn't perfect, but it is something. Josh and I often make trips, like last month when we've been to Morocco and we are hiking all the time. We stay in low cost hostels so that we can afford our trips. Trips like the trip now to Berkeley, California.
Josh helps me carry my suitcase arguing that it is way too big for a girl of my size. He is practically running, eager to meet his best friend St. Clair. When we finally arrive at the parking lot, where Anna and St. Clair should be waiting, I am out of breath after the fast-paced walk. St. Clair beams when he sees us. "Josh!", he screams bear- hugging the other guy "and little Isla", he says turning to me and giving me a hug as well. "How have you been? You must have missed us terribly." Josh grins. "Not at all. Especially not your stupid British accent, which you should have lost by now." I smile at Anna and we both take a step away from the guys to give them a bit of privacy. They really are like an old married couple sometimes. "So, how have you been?" I ask Anna. She shrugs and grins. "Amazing. Étienne and I are very happy. Although both our parents are angry at us for wanting to marry so young, but they'll both attend the wedding, so I guess they are not too angry. " I nod, but as I am about to reply St. Clair calls us. "Are you guys ready to hit the road?"
"This is our humble home." St. Clair walks around the room showing everything off. Everywhere are movie posters , which plaster the walls and make it difficult to see the wall colour. "Anna and I are going to sleep on the couch and you can have the bedroom." With a wink he adds. "Please don't do nasty stuff too loudly." Josh laughs, while Anna hits St. Clair with her elbow. I just feel my face go full tomato. St. Clair's confident manner still makes me feel uneasy sometimes. "You don't have to sleep on the couch, I can do that. Besides I am smaller than you guys are." Anna shakes her head and St. Clair adds with a grin. "We insist, m'lady." I nearly go red again. "Tomorrow, we are going to meet Lola and Cricket, so be warned."
I cannot sleep well at night. The thought about visiting and Anna had filled me with excitement, but suddenly it feels like too much. After a while I apparently fell asleep as Josh wakes me up with a kiss on my forehead. "Hey. You don't look like you slept much." He says. "I didn't. I just worried about…stuff." He looks worried at me. "You want to talk about it?" I hate when he looks like that, with his forehead crunched together. "Nope." I say and smile up at him. "Come on let's eat breakfast, I can smell the waffles from here." Josh grins and begins to trace my lips with his fingers. "I think they can wait a bit." He kisses me and when he whispers in my ear in a husky voice "I love your hair in the morning." I feel like agreeing with him.
St. Clair and Anna show us around that day. It is a beautiful place full of life, although Anna is mostly excited about the cinemas. I feel an excited flutter when she asks me to see a movie with her together. It is sometimes hard for me to connect with people and I really like Anna.
In the evening, Lola and Cricket come over and Anna is all over the place, trying to clean some invisible dirt for the fourth time. St. Clair finally calms her down, by taking her in his arms and then proceeding to dance with the mop she had held in her arms. " ." she protests, but she laughs. I wonder sometimes whether Josh and I look as happy to other people as those two do. I look over at him and see him smiling at the scene. He seems to notice my glance, because he looks at me and winks. I don't wink back but I show him my brightest smile. When Lola and Cricket arrive, I am feeling much better than yesterday evening and I wonder what I worried about. Lola arrives in the coolest Cleopatra costume and Cricket in plain jeans and shirt. During our dinner (we made Spaghetti) I let the others talk mostly while I just stay quiet and enjoy all the loud hubble around me. Lola apparently already sells some of her clothes on a website while Cricket is still a student.
"Who wants to play some guess-who-I-am?" Anna asks after dinner. "Well, certainly not me." responds directly while already getting up to get paper and pen. Josh writes my character, and he carefully adjusts the sticking note to my forehead. "There." He says, giving me a chaste kiss on the lips. My heart flutters. How can it be, that he still affects me that way, after all this time? During the game, we all have loads of fun and say mostly nonsense. "Am I having the monthly curse?" "No, and I don't want you girls to go into detail about it now." "Mysogynistic, don't you think so Isla?" "Definetly!But seriously guys, how can I be dead and alive at the same time. Josh, some help?" Josh shakes his head. "No can do. But you can guess it. Come on, give it another try." So I give it some more tries and guess it right, coming in second place. I smile while thinking of my day. So far, this trip is going great.